The “Pacific Islands Meteorological Services in Action” Compendium which was compiled by SPREP-FINPAC Project in partnership with World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Climate and Oceans Support Programme for the Pacific (COSPPac) and Environment and Climate Change Canada is a result of a first “writeshop” for climate services in the Pacific.

The latest Caritas State of the Environment Report for Oceania has found widespread hunger and thirst across the Pacific in 2015/2016. The report Hungry for justice, thirsty for change shows extreme weather events, combined with ongoing climatic changes, are contributing to a severe loss of food and water supplies in the region.

Foreword
About 6.9 million people in Pacific island countries cannot access improved sanitation. More than 4.8 million cannot access improved water supplies. The United Nations General Assembly recognizes water and sanitation as basic human rights. The General Assembly has called upon governments and international organizations to provide financial resources, build capacity and technology transfer to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking-water and sanitation for all (UN Resolution A/RES/64/292).

Two hundred people involved in disaster response across the region are gathered in Suva for the annual Pacific Humanitarian Partnership meeting where the impact of disasters on women and children has been on the agenda today.

The meeting was addressed by HRH Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan on the role of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) programs in building resilience to disaster and climate change.

At least four million people in the Pacific face hunger, water shortages and risk of disease this year and next due to droughts and erratic rains, influenced by climate change and the likely development of a ‘super El Niño’.

Introduction Humanity faces growing challenges: a rising population, a warming planet, and increasing inequalities of health, well-being and security between the rich and poor. The International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) global Strategy 2020 provides direction for its work in the face of these challenges. It also clarifies the Secretariat’s priorities in providing membership services to national societies.